Power Train Components Part III: Your Car’s Rear Differential

In part three of our three part series, we’ll cover the importance of getting your car’s rear differential serviced. Why? Well, a lot of people don’t know just how important a component it is…

Rear Differential Service in Mesa

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In a vehicular power train system, a rear differential does a lot of things. For one thing it delivers power from the engine to your car’s wheels. This allows for different speeds and power levels. The wheels of all modern cars operate at different speeds, which allows for smoother turning. When you make a turn, the wheels on the inside of the curve are usually covering a shorter distance and thus a slower speed. In the event of a front or rear wheel drive, the wheels will spin independently.

Differentials serve as a safety mechanism when it comes to turning. Without a functioning rear differential, all four wheels would lock, making it virtually impossible to turn. Differentials split the torque which allow the vehicle wheels to spin at varying speeds.

What Vehicles Use Rear Differentials

A rear differential is usually present in all vehicles. Some vehicles, like trucks and four wheel drive vehicles often use a differential even more than a car does, and thus will sooner or later need differential repair. There are many types of differentials.

One type of rear differential is the open differential that applies similar amounts of torque to each wheel. The power transferred to each wheel depends mostly on traction. Surprisingly, a hot dry climate like Arizona makes a differential act differently than it would in a place with a lot of ice on the road. As a car can easily fishtail or go into a skid on an icy road, it makes sense.

Your car is made of several key components, most of which you can’t easily see. The power train of your vehicle is one of those components that is often overlooked, and one of the most overlooked is your differential. As a result, you are guaranteeing that sooner or later, you’re going to need rear differential repair in Mesa.